Attalla Cemetery not in city limits, annexation process under way

Saturday

Mar 2, 2013 at 10:34 PMMar 2, 2013 at 10:37 PM

Nobody knows why, but the Attalla Cemetery is not in the city limits. “For some reason, the city limits just horseshoes around the cemetery,” Tom Parker, administrative assistant to Mayor Larry Means, said.

BY LISA ROGERSTimes Staff Writer

Nobody knows why, but the Attalla Cemetery is not in the city limits.“For some reason, the city limits just horseshoes around the cemetery,” Tom Parker, administrative assistant to Mayor Larry Means, said.The African-American cemetery is on a slope along a ridge off U.S. Highway 11 South, near 20th Street and Fifth Avenue.It could have been that those who owned the property fought being placed in the city limits, Parker said, but anyone who knows the answer is deceased.“There are no records that explain it,” he said.Though deeds show the cemetery was established in 1903, some of the grave markers date back to the 1800s. One old deed shows the 6.2-acre tract was sold for $200 from one family to another in the early 1920s. Documents show a board was set up in the 1920s to oversee the cemetery.Parker said necessary documents now are in the hands of the city’s lawyer to annex the property into the city limits.Once that is done, he said, the city can make repairs and maintain the property.Now, The Rev. Preston Nix and Oscar Hayes are the only trustees on the cemetery board. They are encouraged the city of Attalla wants to incorporate the cemetery.Nix has served as a trustee for a few years and has done research to find out as much about the property as possible.He said the workers in the coal mine on the ridge above the cemetery pooled their money to buy the property, so they would have a place to bury their dead. Cemeteries at the time were segregated.Quite a few African-American soldiers who served in World War I and World War II are buried there, Nix said.Historians say many of the descendants of those buried there left the area in the early 1900s, heading to Northern and Eastern cities, and that’s when the cemetery fell into ruins.Some individual graves have been cared for by family members through the years, but the cemetery as a whole is overgrown with brush and trees.Some graves have trees growing through the caskets. Cave-ins have left some caskets exposed because not all are in vaults.Nix said it had been several years since someone was buried there. He and Hayes recently allowed someone who already has family buried at the cemetery to bury more family members there.“We’re not going to let any more be done now,” he said. “We didn’t want someone to go up there and just dig a hole.”Nix said not all the graves are clearly marked. They hope to have a better idea of where all the graves are once the cemetery is cleared and maintained on a regular basis.“About 15 or 20 years ago, we were digging a grave and dug into a grave,” he said. “That is not something you want to do.”Nix said once the city takes over maintenance, new grave sites will be allowed. However, restrictions will be in place that include properly marking the grave.“Once you put a body in the ground and don’t follow through with a marker, you’ve got a problem,” he said.The last time the cemetery was cared for on a regular basis is believed to be the 1940s.Through the years, different groups have worked to clean up the cemetery, only to have it taken over by brush and weeds within months. Inmates at the Etowah County Detention Center have worked at the cemetery several times.An extensive cleanup in 2005 took a few months, and it was in good shape when the efforts were finished. Some of the trees were 5 to 6 feet across, and chest-high vines and brush covered the plot of land.Parker said Nix, Charles Cunningham and Councilman Kenneth Scissum have worked with him and city officials to try to make the changes necessary to have the cemetery annexed.Parker and Nix said Carolyn Parker, District 5 commissioner, also has provided help with clearing the cemetery.The Etowah County Commission worked several years ago to get the road that circles the cemetery paved.The annexation process will take time, but once it is done, city officials intend to make some improvements, then regularly maintain the cemetery.“We don’t want to see any cemetery in disarray,” Tom Parker said. “And this one has been neglected for too long.”Nix agreed.“We have soldiers buried there that fought for this country,” he said. “It’s not right to not give them the privilege of a decent grave site.”Nix said they hope to collect some donations to help with upkeep of the cemetery, including markers and other costs. Anyone who wants to help may call Nix at 256-538-2055 or 256-305-9730.

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